Suspension-railway and car or carriage therefor.



No. 640,050/ Patented Dec. 26, I899.

0. von THAL & n. WEISS. SUSPENSION RAILWAY AND CAR 0R CARRIAGE THEREFOR.

(Application filed Jan. 18, 1899) (N0 Model.) 2 Sheets-Shae l.

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No. 640,050.' Patented Dec. 26, I899. C. VON THAL & R. WEISS.

SUSPENSION RAILWAY AND CAR OR CARRIAGE THEREFOR.

( Application filed Jan. 16, 1899.)

2 SheetsSheet 2.

(No Model.)

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ITED STATES PATENT FFICE.

CHRISTIAN VON THAL, OF ST. PETERSBURG, RUSSIA, AND ROMAIN WEISS,

OF SURESNES, FRANCE.

SUSPENSION-RAILWAY AND CAR OR CARRIAGE THEREFOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 640,050, dated December 26, 1899.

Application filed January 16, 1899. Serial No.702,307. (No model.)

T0 at whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, CHRISTIAN VON TEAL, civil engineer, a subject of the Emperor of Russia, residing at St.Petersburg,Russia,and ROMAIN WEISS, engineer, a citizen of the French Republic, residing at Suresnes, near Paris, France, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Suspension-Railways and in Cars or Carriages Therefor, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is aside elevation of a part of our improved suspension-railway, showing a car suspended therefrom. Fig. 2 is a transverse section of the said railway drawn to an enlarged scale, showing also an end elevation of the car and one of its supporting-bogies. Fig. 3 is a side elevation, and Fig. 4 an end elevation, both drawn to a further enlarged scale, showing one of the supporting-bogies of the car.

Like letters of reference indicate corresponding parts throughout the drawings.

Our invention is designed to provide an improved electric suspension-railway on which cars or carriages for either passengers or goods can be caused to travel with safety at a high velocity and with but little vibration and noise and can be easily controlled either by the conductor or from the generating or other station.

The object of our said invention is to provide a more direct connection than heretofore between the car and the car-trucks, and thus reduce the weight of the moving parts and at the same time to permit later-a1 swinging of the car through a small angle, while preventing undue swinging thereof.

Hitherto the car has been suspended through the medium of vertical rods and springs from transverse beams, which in turn are suspended from the car-trucks by the swiveling connections. This arrangement not only makes the moving parts unnecessarily heavy, but also involves the use of many parts and connections, which are liable to wear and to increase the vibration and noise occasioned when traveling. Now by our invention we reduce the number of parts and diminish the liability to wear and to vibration and consequent noise.

To this end our said invention partly consists in the combination of car trucks or bogies adapted to run upon overhead rails, a car or carriage and king-bolts or pivots secured directly to said car or carriage and suspended from said trucks or bogies, respectively, so that the said car or carriage is free to swing laterally through a small angle, and said trucks or bogies can turn relatively to said car or carriage when traveling around a curve.

Our said invention also partly consists in the combination of car trucks or bogies adapted to run upon overhead rails, a car or carriage, king-bolts or swinging pivots rigidly secured directly to said car or carriage and mounted in spherical hearings in said trucks or bogies, respectively, and springs directly connecting said car or carriage to said trucks or bogies on both sides of said king-bolts 'or pivots, whereby the lateral swinging of said car or carriage is controlled, so as to prevent undue swinging thereof, and our said vinvention further consists in the various combinations hereinafter described, and pointed out in the claims.

A A are supports which may consist, for example, of columns or of old rails bolted or riveted together and which are firmly fixed in the ground in any well-known manner and are rigidly connected together in pairs by cross beams or girders B. Upon these crossgirders are supported the suspension-girders G, from which depend tension-supports'D, provided with cross-beams E, whereon the rails F are laid and secured. If desired, suitable provision is made whereby the said tension-supports can be lengthened or shortened to adjust the rails to the proper level.

G is the car, which is made as light as is practicable, having regard to the load which it is to carry. This car is suspended at each end from a truck or bogie H, mounted on two pairs of wheels H, that run upon the rails F. The car G has rigidly secured directly to it two strong pivot-pins or king-bolts J, one near each end of the said car. Each of these pivots or king-bolts J has a head which is made in the form of a zone of a sphere and rests in a correspondingly-shaped seat in the bogie-frame H, so that the car can swing laterally and the bogies can turn or swivel relatively to'the car sufficiently to accommodate themselves to curves in the railway. To prevent excessive swinging of the car, it is also directly connected to the bogies through the medium of springs K, located on opposite sides of the pivots or king-bolts J, and for this purpose spiral springs or india-rubber springs are preferably used.

If deemed desirable, we provide supplementary suspension-rods L, provided with indiarubber cushions or springs L and so arranged that should the central pivot-pin or kingbolt break they will come into action and efficiently support the car. These suspensionrods L are pivoted to the car one in advance and the other in rear of each swiveling bolt or king-bolt J, so that they will not interfere with the turning of the car-truck relatively to the car. The cushions or springs L prevent or diminish shocks or jars when the said suspension-rods come into action.

The wheels H are fixed upon separate axles a so that they can rotate independently of each other, and in the arrangement shown two of the wheels of each bogie are driven by means of electric motors b, the armatures of which are fixed,respectively,on the axles of the said wheels or on shafts connected therewith by suitable gearing. The said axles are, as above stated, preferably made tubular and mounted in ball-bearings. If desired, two or more of the aforesaid cars or carriages are coupled together, in which case suitable couplings and bufiers are provided.

The electric current is supplied to the motors b from a suitable generatingstation through an insulated conductor 0, Figs. 3 and 4, secured to the cross-beams E beneath one of the rails F and through one or both of the rails themselves, which are also insulated, a suitable roller d, carried by a spring-arm, be ing provided to establish a rolling contact with the conductor 0. A similar insulated conductor 6 and roller d are also provided beneath the other rail F to permit of telegraphic or telephonic communication between the car and either or any of the stations. A switch f is provided in the conductors compartment of the car G for each motor-circuit, and another switch controlling the motor-circuits is provided at the generating-station or at any of the other stations. The train can therefore be put in motion or stopped either by the conductor or by an operator at one of the stations. When the latter method is adopted, collisions are easily avoidable, as the operator at the said station, being provided with an indicator, will know the position of the cars or trains on the line at any time.

We prefer to use acoustic or audible signals-such, for example, as bells or telephones-in the conductors compartment 0perated from the stations.

We also provide one or more automatic electric brakes which will be applied to one or more of the wheels of the trucks or bogies as soon astheinotor-circuitisinterrupted. Consequently should an axle be broken the electric brake will immediately be applied, so as to arrest or retard the motion of the train.

The shifting of the cars or carriages from one line to another is effected by means of a kind of carrier-bridge suitably suspended so that it can turn about a vertical axis. The turn-tables are also suitably suspended.

Our improved cars can be made on a small scale for use in carrying letters, parcels, and the like.

What we claim is 1. The combination, with trucks or bogies adapted to travel upon overhead rails, and a car or carriage, of king-bolts or pivots rigidly secured at their lower ends directly to the central part of the end portions of the car-top and at their upper ends pivotally suspended from the trucks or bogies, and bolts or rods arranged around the said kingbolts or pivots and connecting said trucks with said car, substantially as described.

2. The combination, with two trucks or bogies adapted to travel upon overhead rails, and a car or carriage, of king-bolts or pivots swiveled attheir upper ends, respectively, to the trucks or bogies and rigidly secured at their lower ends to the car-top, bolts or rods arranged around the said king-bolts or pivots and connecting said trucks with said car, and springs or cushions between said bolts or rods and the surfaces on which they bear, substantially as described.

3. The combination of trucks or bogies adapted to run upon overhead rails, a car or carriage, king-bolts or pivots rigidly secured directly to said car or carriage and mounted in spherical hearings in said trucks or bogies respectively, suspension-rods arranged around said king-bolts or pivots and yieldingly connecting said trucks or bogies to the car, and springs directly connecting said car or carriage to said trucks or bogies on both sides of said pivots, whereby the lateral swinging of said caror carriage is controlled, substantially as hereinbefore described.

4. The combination of electrically-propelled trucks or bogies having their wheels mounted upon separate or independent axles and adapted to run upon overhead rails, a car or carriage, king-bolts or pivots directly connecting said car or carriage to said trucks or bogies, suspension-rods arranged around said king-bolts or pivots and yieldingly connecting said trucks or bogies to the car,and springs directly connecting said car or carriage to said trucks or bogies on opposite sides of said pivots, substantially as, and for the purposes, hereinbefore described.

5. The combination with two trucks or begies adapted to travel on overhead rails, and a car susceptible of swinging laterally, of

king-bolts or pivots secured at their lower ends directly to the central part of the end portions of the car-top and respectively suspended from the central parts of the trucks or bogies, and suspension-rods depending from the trucks or bogies and pivotally secured at their lower ends to the car-top in front and rear of said pivots with their axes In testimony whereof we have hereunto set our hands in presence of two witnesses.

CHRISTIAN VON THAL. ROMAIN WEISS.

Witnesses to the signature of Christian Von Thal: DAVID YOUNG,

ALEXANDER W. ALLEN.

Witnesses to the signature of Romain Weiss:

PAUL DEMENY, EDWARD P. MACLEAN. 

